


Chuck

by likebunnies



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: Abbie Mills Lives, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Ichabbie Holidays, Mid-Season/Series 03 Hiatus, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 20:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9016702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likebunnies/pseuds/likebunnies
Summary: Abbie and Crane discover a yeti in Sleepy Hollow and have to figure out what to do next with their new friend. I started this over a year ago over on Tumblr and never finished it. Now it's done in time for Ichabbie Holidays!





	

**Author's Note:**

> It's a Christmas miracle! Maybe if everyone is good, I might add an extra tidbit to the end later on. You never know. 
> 
> Yes, this is goofy and bad!fic and I apologize.

Crane continued to stand there at parade rest as Abbie made one more circle around the snowy field before joining him again by the gate. He had to be freezing but he refused to wear a modern parka or even a heavier wool overcoat. Abbie had tried to get him to at least try on several the last time he could be talked into shopping with her but he insisted that he would know it when he saw it and none of these were it. He was at least wearing a tasteful scarf and gloves. And that ridiculous hat with furry ear flaps that he liked. She seriously considered hitting him with a snowball. 

Abbie called it in on her cellphone that there was no sign of the missing and possibly kidnapped teenager in this area despite the hotline tip and she stood beside her fellow Witness, watching the snow fall to the ground. It had been a light dusting of snow earlier in the day but now was coming down too fast for her to be able to find any footprints in the field anymore. 

“Someone saw something. I just don't know what yet,” Abbie said, rubbing her hands together. “Let's get out of there before you become a Cranesicle.” 

He didn't move. He stood taller in a defensive posture, stepping slightly in front of her. 

“Lieutenant...” Crane said, pointing to the distant treeline. “What is that?” 

Abbie looked to where he was pointing and tried to figure out what he was talking about. Something moved a little. It was hard to tell what exactly it might be. There was so much white against white that she ended up squinting. She still couldn't see anything clearly. 

Then it moved. Not a lot but enough that she could see... fur? A lot of fur. Abbie pushed her partner out of the way and drew her weapon, pointing at the furry thing that was not Crane's hat. 

“Perhaps we should investigate it before you shoot at it. Not that anything you shoot at dies anyway,” Crane said, starting out across the empty field. Abbie followed. The thing didn't move. Didn't run away. Actually, it was coming toward them like a large English Sheepdog. 

“What the actual fuck?” Abbie said as they got closer. Yes, she still had her weapon drawn just in case but unlike most of the entities they ran into, this thing looked friendly. It was kind of loping its way over. 

“What the actual fuck indeed,” Crane commented. He put his hand up to his nose. The thing might look friendly but it smelled like a wet skunk wrapped in old socks. 

“Do you think it speaks?” Abbie asked as they got closer. 

“I can't even begin to venture a guess, Lieutenant,” he said. They finally were within a few feet of the big furry... man? Thing? Manthing. It was definitely male. Abbie could see that from here. She was used to seeing too much anyway so it wasn't that disturbing. 

“Stop right there,” Abbie said, motioning for him to stop with her free hand. Crane still stood in a protective stance even though he was covering his nose and Abbie had the gun. The creature stopped and cocked his head to the side like a puppy. “Think he has a name?”

“We can ask,” Crane said with a shrug. 

“My name is Abbie and he's Ichabod,” Abbie said, pointing first to herself and then to Crane. “What's your name?” 

Now he cocked his head to the other side and stared at her with his big black eyes that perfectly matched his nose. He looked like an overgrown American Eskimo dog. Or a Samoyed. His fur was lush and clean but he still had that overwhelming odor. 

“What are you called?” Crane tried. The walking dog manthing ignored him completely and kept looking at Abbie. 

“Guccckkk?” he said with a bit of a Chewbacca growl. 

“Chuck? Well, hi, Chuck. What are you doing in Sleepy Hollow?” Abbie asked. 

“Guccckkk,” it said again. It reached out for Abbie's free hand and began stroking it with his paw. 

“What are your plans now, Lieutenant? It seems you have acquired a pet,” Crane said, stepping protectively behind Abbie much to the consternation of Chuck. 

“You mean it seems I have acquired ANOTHER pet, Crane?” Abbie said with a laugh, unable to see Crane sneer. Chuck saw it, though. “I don't know. Call the forest service? Animal control? Hermey the Elf?” 

“Who?”

“Never mind. How about we see if we can get him back to archives and we can work on what he might be and why he might be here,” Abbie said and Crane groaned. 

“Not my archives! What if the Historical Preservation Society shows up unexpectedly and finds this thing in there?” he said. Abbie pursed her lips as she tried to come up with another idea. 

“Guccckkk!” Chuck said. 

“I'll call Jenny and Joe. Maybe we can take him to the cabin for a while. At least then we won't have to drag him through town,” Abbie said, slowly pulling her hand from Chuck's and then putting her weapon back in its holster. 

“Maybe we can convince him to take a bath in the lake,” Crane said, sniffing the air once more to see if had improved. It hadn't. 

“Guccckkk!” he said, shaking his head at the word bath. 

“And teach him a new word,” Crane added as they started walking back toward Abbie's car. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

“What exactly do you plan on doing with him?” Jenny asked. Joe and Crane both stood upwind of Chuck as Abbie tried to figure out the answer to that question. It's not like she had room in her house for both Crane and Chuck. Not unless she got them bunk beds. Did Chuck even sleep in a bed or did he prefer a nest of pine branches? Maybe he'd like a big dog bed. Maybe she and Crane could share a bed...

Abbie wasn't sure where that thought came from but Chuck seemed to sense that she was thinking about her partner in that way. He was at her side instantly and making purring noises. Abbie reached out and patted Chuck without even thinking about it. 

“We probably need to feed him. What do you think he eats?” Abbie asked. 

“He looks like he would like to take a bite out of one Revolutionary-era soldier to quell his appetite,” Crane muttered from the other side of the porch. The snow was still falling and they were going to have to make some plans for the night and make them quickly. Food and lodging came first. 

“All Joe has here is a bottle of whiskey and a couple of boxes of candy canes. Which of those do you want to try?” Jenny said. Abbie told her to get the candy canes and sooner or later, they'd have to go to the grocery store to find something real for Chuck to eat. Or maybe the McDonald's drive-thru. But was he going to want a salad or a cheeseburger? Was Chuck a vegetarian? A vegan? What if he had a problem with gluten? They would just have to find out. It was so much easier when Crane was new. She just had to feed him a few donut holes and get him some arsenic-laced water and he was happy. Or at least he could express his happiness in words she mostly understood. 

Jenny returned with a variety of candy canes and handed the boxes to Abbie, explaining that Joe had them for the party the EMTs throw for the local kids they saved over the last few years. Abbie looked through the boxes at all the various flavors. “Can't just have traditional peppermint like the rest of the world? What's this? Jolly Rancher flavored candy canes? Why?” Abbie asked as she pulled the cellophane wrapper off of a box of cherry flavored ones. She and Jenny both took one for themselves and then Abbie brought one to Crane and to Joe. Crane gave her the arched eyebrow look of 'why me?' but Abbie unwrapped his and stuck the one end in his mouth. “We're going to have to show him they're safe and how to eat them.”

She then brought one to Chuck and unwrapped it. She was going to hand it to him but it would be completely covered in fur if she did that. Obviously Chuck didn't eat too much sticky stuff. Abbie placed it into his mouth and he chewed it up and swallowed it immediately. Then she got him another one with the same result. Finally, he finished the box of cherry candy canes and Abbie tried to feed him some Sweet Tarts flavored candy canes. He was having none of that. Crane was still sucking on his cherry candy cane, his lips a darker shade of red now from the coloring, and gave Abbie a shoulder shrug indicating he had no idea what to do with a yeti. They opened all the boxes and he refused all the flavors. This was just perfect. A yeti with candy cane preferences. Abbie swiped the unfinished one from Crane's mouth and tried to offer it to Chuck. He absolutely refused, tossing it to the icy ground. 

Chuck then sat down in the snow and whimpered while Abbie tried to figure out some long term solutions to their problem. Food was one thing but this creature obviously didn't belong in Sleepy Hollow. 

“How are we going to get him back to Nepal or Tibet or wherever?” Abbie asked Jenny. 

“I know some people who experts at smuggling things in and out of that region but maybe we could just take him to the Adirondacks. It's not like you and I are made of money, Abbie,” Jenny said. Abbie realized her sister was right. 

“You're right. And with another mouth to feed, I'll even be more strapped for cash...”

“You're... pregnant?” Jenny asked, looking from Abbie to Crane and then back again. Crane gave her a 'don't look at me!' wide-eyed look. 

“Not that kind of mouth to feed, Jenny. I meant Chuck,” Abbie said, shaking her head at her sister's notion. “So, we get him to the Adirondacks. That's not happening today so I guess he either sleeps here or at my place and considering I've only made a few payments on my house, that's not going to be the answer.”

“I have a yurt. Well, my dad did. We can put it up out back and I'm sure Chuck will be happy with that. It's pretty warm inside if you set it up right. Someone is going to have to stay with him and watch him,” Joe said, nodding at the poor creature still whimpering in the snow. “I have an all night shift and Jenny has to be at the bar soon.” 

“He very obviously detests me so I'm not staying alone with him,” Crane pointed out. “I'll stay with you, though, Lieutenant, if you don't want to stay with him on your own.”

“Looks like I'll be babysitting both of you then. Guess I better go pick up some Happy Meals,” Abbie said, wondering how she kept getting herself into these things. Purgatory was one thing. A night in an old yurt with Crane and a yeti was another thing entirely. 

^*^*^*^*^*^

Abbie went and got some supplies while Crane, Joe, and Chuck set up the yurt. Well, not so much Chuck. He spent most of the time saying 'Abba Abba' until Abbie came back. At least he learned another word and they all assumed he meant Abbie and not the Swedish pop group. 

She returned with enough blankets to keep her and Crane warm through the night, their drive-thru dinner, and plenty of snacks for later. And as many boxes of cherry flavored candy canes as she could find at Wal-Mart. 

After Joe left for his shift, Abbie sat on one cot and Crane sat on another, both wrapped in blankets. Chuck sat perfectly warm in just his fur in the center of the yurt as Abbie tossed Chicken McNuggets to him. Occasionally, she'd toss one to Crane, too. Chuck definitely wasn't a vegetarian and she didn't know if she should be worried about that or not. She felt perfectly safe. It was Crane who would be eaten if Chuck got any ideas in his head. 

“When are you considering taking him to his new home in the mountains? I can't imagine this cot will be very comfortable for more than a few nights,” Crane said, trying to curl his long legs up into a comfortable position and failing. 

“Why? You want to stay with him in the Adirondacks?” Abbie asked in that sing songy fashion she used when asking Crane something silly to set him off. 

“No. I was merely suggesting that it would be better for all of us if Chuck here found a more suitable home,” he said, fussing about under his blanket. Leave it to Crane to even be jealous of a yeti. 

“I'll have to find out when I can borrow Jenny's truck. I think we'll all be more comfortable that way. It's not like I can buy him a bus ticket out of here anymore than I could do that when you showed up,” Abbie said. 

“Might I remind you that I am not a cryptid,” Crane said with a whole lot of attitude. 

“You are. A little. I mean, you shouldn't exist. Maybe you really don't,” Abbie said, teasing him. 

“I can assure you that I am completely real,” he said, sitting up straighter if that was possible, finally giving up on finding a comfortable position for his legs. 

“And so is Chuck,” Abbie said, sending another McNugget in Chuck's direction. 

“You could have at least brought some Chinese take-out,” Crane mumbled. 

“The twenty piece McNuggets were on sale. Chinese food is not. Jenny is right. We are running short of cash after a few of our latest adventures,” she said. 

Crane, instead of suggesting he get a job, suggested that they put Chuck on display and charge for admission. He could be the highlight of the Hudson Valley Historic whatever he was calling it these days. 

“How could we possibly do that? Chuck is a wild... something. We can't cage him just to turn a profit,” Abbie said with a pout. Chuck, sensing what they were discussing, gave Crane a little growl, and then stood up and looked out the yurt door. “Do you think he's going to sleep at all?” 

“Taking our long streak of luck into account? I'd say no,” Crane said. “Get some sleep, Lieutenant. I will make sure no harm comes to your furry friend.” 

“Abba abba,” Chuck said, turning to look at Abbie. 

“It's okay, Chuck. I just need a little nap. He won't sell you in that amount of time,” Abbie assured him. 

“You never know,” Crane added, sneering at the furry beast. 

“Behave... both of you,” Abbie said, and Chuck settled down on the ground near her cot. Crane mumbled something about Chuck getting to sleep with her before he ever got to but Abbie closed her eyes and pretended not to hear. 

^*^*^*^*^*^*

“What is that noise? Chuck? Crane?” Abbie asked, struggling to find her flashlight. It sounded like a door had slammed in the distance and there was also... wailing? Singing? Caterwauling? Could Chuck sing? Did she want to find out? “Crane? You still in here?”

“I am indeed, Lieutenant. What is your pet doing now? He sounds like a cat in heat,” he said. Abbie found her flashlight and scanned around the yurt but Chuck was definitely not in there with them. Just Crane looking very uncomfortable on a very tiny cot with a lot of blankets pulled up to his chin. She hoped he wasn't going to start bitching about the cold or bring up Valley Forge one more time. She was tired of that story. Sooner or later, she assumed she'd find out the real reason he didn't freeze was Betsy Ross. It was always Betsy Ross. 

“I heard a door. Maybe he was in the cabin,” she said, getting up and pulling on another jacket. The night was decidedly much colder now and the small wood burning stove in the yurt had gone out. “Or maybe he went to warm up.”

Crane got up to join her search for the creature and complained about many things, including the cold and how he was still hungry for some kung-pao chicken. They both made their way out of the yurt to find the yeti before he got into trouble. 

Except they were too late. 

“I thought Jenny said there was only one bottle of whiskey here. That appears to be rum your friend is drinking now,” Crane said, nodding his head toward Chuck. 

“Yeah, and if anyone would recognize the rum, it's you,” Abbie said, approaching Chuck with caution. She had no clue what a drunken yeti would be like but she hoped it made him happier and not hungrier. She should have grabbed more candy canes out of the yurt. “Hey, Chuck. Whatcha doing?” 

“Abba abba!” he said, handing her the empty bottle. Abbie handed it to Crane, who tipped it upside down to prove that it was indeed empty.

“Why is it always gone?” he asked sullenly, tossing the bottle aside. 

“I don't know, Captain, why is it always gone? Chuck, how are you feeling?” Abbie asked. 

“He doesn't look well. Perhaps I should make my famous concoction for such an occasion –”

“You're telling me that you've dealt with a drunken yeti before?” Abbie asked, shooting him a look of exasperation as she tried to stop Chuck from getting to one of the other bottles he had left chilling in a snowbank. “Oh, no! Not the tequila...”

“Of course not but I was around plenty of soldiers who needed a quick cure for when they imbibed too many spirits,” Crane said, looking one by one through the bottles in Chuck's little snowbank bar. “Ah, look! There is more rum. Joe is a good man.”

Before Abbie could get the bottles away from either Chuck or Crane, one had finished an entire bottle of Jose Cuervo while the other took a slug of Bacardi Gold. 

“Either of you throw up anywhere near me tonight and I'll murder you and hide your body where no one will ever find it. I know how,” Abbie said. 

“Oh, lighten up, Lieutenant. Have some,” Crane said, handing her the bottle of rum. It really wasn't her thing, especially straight out of the bottle, but she was going to need it to get through this night. She took a long sip before handing it back to Crane. 

“Abba Abba,” Chuck said, looking at her forlornly for some reason she couldn't figure out. He brought her another one of Joe's bottles and Abbie opened it, now taking a sip of Jack. The yeti sat next to her and stroked her hand while Crane drank more rum and started singing old sea shanties. It wasn't too long before Chuck was joining in. Sort of. Now they both sounded like some cats in heat. In between songs, Chuck finished off one more bottle and Abbie tried to calculate how much she was going to owe Joe. She hoped that Jenny had stolen all of these from the bar and she'd owe him nothing. 

One more song was sung before Chuck passed out in the snow, his white fur flapping in the breeze while his black nose pointed towards the heavens. “Lightweight!” Crane shouted at the yeti but he wasn't getting back up anytime soon. 

“How you feeling, Crane?” Abbie asked, looking at her partner as he put the cap back on the bottle and stuck it in the snow. 

“I'm feeling amazing, Abba. Let's go to bed!” 

^*^*^*^*^*^*

Abbie helped Crane stumble back into the yurt, leaving Chuck snoring out in the snow. Let sleeping dogs lie and all that, she figured. That way he wouldn't throw up where they were sleeping if he woke up sick. As for Crane, he weaved his way to... her cot. And that's where he ended up. 

“Crane, you might be drunk but I am not. Get out of my bed,” Abbie demanded but he simply reached out, grabbed her hand, and pulled her onto the cot, too. 

“Shh,” he said, pulling a blanket over both of them and wrapping her in his lanky arms. Just great, Abbie thought. The first time she was in bed with a man in months and he was a drunken Crane. He pulled her even closer and whispered in her ear. “Just sleep, my Abba Abba.”

A drunken Crane who wanted to do nothing but crush her in his big arms and sleep. Even better. This is not how she imagined this night going. Not that she imagined this night going anywhere at all but this really wasn't it. 

“I can't sleep if you're smooshing me,” she said and he let her adjust her position and draped his arm back over her. 

It really wasn't bad. He was very warm, smelled rather nice even with the touch of rum, and it was very pleasant to be in the arms of a man again, drunken Crane and all. Or especially drunken Crane. Yes, especially... Crane. 

His breathing had become soft and steady and she knew he had fallen asleep. Or at least she thought he had. She used this rare moment when his hands were finally still to rest her own hands over his. They were soft from him stealing her moisturizer out of the bathroom. He owed her big time for some of those jars that were now empty. He should have been wearing gloves in this weather but she was glad he had fallen asleep without them on. 

Wrapped up together like this, it was so warm and so easy to drift off to sleep, with the sound of Chuck snoring out in the snow and Crane breathing evenly behind her. Abbie closed her eyes and was soon asleep. 

“Wow, I missed one hell of a party, didn't I?” 

Abbie nearly screamed as Jenny spoke from somewhere above her. She tried to pull herself free from Crane but now he not only had an arm over her, but a heavy booted leg as well. 

“It wasn't a party,” Abbie whispered, trying to wiggle out of under Crane. “Is Chuck still out there?”

“Sleeping like a 400 pound furry baby,” Jenny said, lifting Crane's leg so Abbie had a chance to pull herself free and then dropping it once she was off the cot. “What's this about?”

“He was drunk. Nothing happened,” Abbie said, trying hard to fix her hair with her hands and failing for now. 

“Aww, that's too bad. But it's a good thing Chuck didn't catch the two of you together. He would have pulled Crane's arms off. Anyway, I came over to tell you that Mike said you can borrow his RV for a day or two. I didn't tell him that you'd be transporting a yeti in it but this way everyone will be more comfortable on the trip to the Adirondacks,” Jenny said. 

Abbie had to think about all the implications of going on a trip with a yeti. And Crane. In a borrowed RV. “Is it too late or too early to have a drink?” she asked her sister. 

“As far as I'm concerned, it's never one or the other,” Jenny said, heading out to the snow to grab a few bottles. 

^*^*^*^*^*^*

This was definitely some sort of road trip hell. Crane was driving the RV, which was insane enough since he hadn't actually been driving for all that long, while she tried to keep Chuck calm in the back. He woke up with one hell of a hangover and was in an irritable mood. Well, so did Crane but she gave him some aspirin and told him to be quiet and drive this giant tank of a vehicle. The only thing that soothed Chuck was her presence. She should really be up front with Crane to make sure they ended up in the right place, but Chuck wasn't going to allow that. 

If only Jenny or Joe had been able to take the day off to help drive, this would have been so much easier, but it was bad enough she had to call in 'sick' because of a lost yeti. Thankfully, Chuck didn't seem to have his appetite back because in her rush to get on the road, Abbie forgot to supply the RV with cherry flavored candy canes. There was rum stashed away somewhere in case they needed it later and she could run into a McDonald's if necessary. It would be interesting to watch Crane attempt to park this thing again. 

They suddenly veered to the left and then back to the right again and Abbie ended up on Chuck's lap. 

“Sorry!” Crane shouted from the front as Abbie tried to untangle herself from her furry friend. 

“Abba abba,” he said, stroking her hand with his paw. 

“Do that again and Chuck and I might end up married yet!” Abbie called out. Hearing that, Chuck got excited and started stroking Abbie's hand more vehemently. “I'm not kidding, Crane!”

“I am doing my best to keep this vehicle on the road but the other drivers are not pleased with the speed that this thing can maintain, and frankly, neither am I. I was in carriages slower than this,” he said. 

“Yes, so was I!” Abbie reminded him. Though not him. Well, it was him but... never mind. 

“Can I ask an important question we should have considered before now?” Crane asked. Abbie was tired of the shouting back and forth over the distance and the roar of the old engine and she finally moved closer to the front. Though not in the passenger seat. She didn't need Chuck physically assaulting Crane at this point. 

“What's that?” she asked. 

“What if we can't convince him to stay here in the mountains... without you?” Crane asked. 

“Then I guess I will have to give up everything I have in Sleepy Hollow and live in the wild with Chuck,” Abbie said, smirking. 

“Lieutenant!” 

“I'm sure he'll want to stay, Crane. What would there be for him in Sleepy Hollow?” she asked. 

“But without you, what will there be for him in the mountains?” Crane asked wistfully. 

“I don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it but for now, this is the best option that we have. If this doesn't work, we'll drive this thing to the Rockies. There has to be someplace he'll consider home,” Abbie said. 

Crane looked over his shoulder quickly at Abbie and then at Chuck and then turned his eyes back to the road. “Indeed,” he said then almost veered off the road again. At least she didn't end up feeling more of Chuck than she ever wanted to this time. 

“But if we have to go all the way to Colorado, Jenny is driving,” Abbie said and Crane quickly nodded in agreement. 

^*^*^*^*^*^*

Where they ended up was beautiful albeit very cold. They couldn't make it as far as Abbie had planned to go because there was no way the RV was going to manage on the roads at this time of year. Even if Jenny was driving. 

Beautiful or not, Chuck was having none of it. 

Luckily, Abbie had found a winter campground with room for their tank of an RV. Even more lucky for them, not a lot of people were in the area of the camp they were in so no one noticed a frost giant wandering around complaining. They didn't notice Chuck, either. 

But the luckiest things of all was the fact that they had found a liquor store and were now plying Chuck with more rum. He and the Captain did have something in common after all. Well, besides their fondness for Abba Abba. 

Chuck did seem content to sleep outside at night but wouldn't stray far from the RV. Abbie and Crane were getting a little tired of the cramped space and always bumping into each other. Actually, Abbie had to admit, that wasn't completely terrible. They both slept on separate 'beds' though. There was a bigger bed in the back of the RV but they could both keep a better eye on their furry friend from the front. 

The bed in the back was starting to look really good, though. 

“This isn't working,” Crane said after a few days of babysitting Chuck and freezing their asses off. He even stopped trying to compare it all to Valley Forge. When the rum began to run out, both of them knew they were going to have to make some decisions about Chuck's future. 

“Abba Abba,” Chuck said when she tried to tell him he'd be happy here. Crane went into research mode, looking into some of the books on cryptids he had brought with. There really was nothing on how to convince a yeti to stay somewhere once he became attached to his Abba Abba. 

But the next day, something unexpected happened. A miracle, really. 

They heard another 'Guccckkk!' called out from the nearby woods. Loudly but at a higher pitch. Crane winced at the sound and winced even more when a strange smell came closer to the campground. 

“Wait, there are two yetis in the state of New York?” Abbie said, looking around. Chuck sat straight up and dropped his bottle of rum. Whatever was making that noise was far more interesting than Abba Abba and definitely an improvement over Crane. 

“Strangers things have happened,” Crane said as another white, furry creature made its way out from the edge of the trees and into the clearing. Abbie could tell that it was probably a female. Maybe. It was hard to tell and she didn't care what Chuck was into anyway. He was definitely into this creature that looked just like him, only smaller. 

The newcomer looked at Chuck and then looked at Abbie and Crane. Abbie could swear she saw the other yeti shake her head in disgust and then beckon for Chuck to come join her in the woods. 

Chuck couldn't have moved any faster if someone had set a fire under him. He was at the woods “talking” to his new friend when he turned and looked at Abbie. He sauntered back over to her and held her hand, rubbing his face against it. 

“I understand, Chuck. This is for the best,” Abbie said, trying to find some middle ground between sounding too happy or too sad. She wanted him to go but not to hurt his feelings but she didn't want him to find some reason to stay behind. Not when he had the promise of the friendship of his own kind roaming around upstate New York. 

With that, Chuck gave Crane a shrug and Abbie a quick hug and ran off after his new friend. 

“Well then. He replaced you quickly, Abba Abba,” Crane said, smirking. 

“It would have never had worked anyway. I like my guys tall but with a little less hair. And with blue eyes. Oh, and I like them when they cook for me. I don't think Chuck cooked very much Italian food. And I like them wearing some clothes even if they are out of date... or at least wearing them when it is appropriate. They don't have to wear them all the time,” Abbie said. 

“Lieutenant, are you suggesting that you like me?” Crane said, bumping his shoulders into hers. 

“I think you could say that. Yeah. You could definitely say that.” 

Crane swept her quickly off of her feet and into his arms. He couldn't do it as easily as Chuck probably could but Abbie didn't care. She laced her arms around his neck and held on as he walked back through the snow to the RV. In the distance, Abbie heard Chuck and his friend crying out in joyous way, their voices echoing all around them. It was obvious what was going on... and that really was fast. 

“Are you... can you be... that loud?” Crane asked, blushing a little. 

“You'll just have to find out, won't you?” 

^*^*^*^*^*^*

The End


End file.
